Aesop's Fables

The Eagle And The Kite

An Eagle, overwhelmed with sorrow, sat upon the branches of a tree
in company with a Kite. "Why," said the Kite, "do I see you with such
a rueful look?' "I seek," she replied, "a mate suitable for me, and
am not able to find one." "Take me," returned the Kite, "I am much
stronger than you are." "Why, are you able to secure the means of
living by your plunder?' "Well, I have often caught and carried away
an ostrich in my talons." The Eagle, persuaded by these words, accepted
him as her mate. Shortly after the nuptials, the Eagle said, "Fly
off and bring me back the ostrich you promised me." The Kite, soaring
aloft into the air, brought back the shabbiest possible mouse, stinking
from the length of time it had lain about the fields. "Is this," said
the Eagle, "the faithful fulfillment of your promise to me?' The Kite
replied, "That I might attain your royal hand, there is nothing that
I would not have promised, however much I knew that I must fail in
the performance."

Buy a book on Aesop's FablesAesop's Fables (Oxford World's Classics)This new translation is the first to represent all the main fable collections
in ancient Latin and Greek, arranged according to the fables' contents and themes. It includes 600 fables, many of which come from sources never before
translated into English.

Buy a book on Aesop's FablesAesop's FablesKindergarten-Grade 4-A visually appealing selection of 61 fables that mixes the well known ("The Fox and
the Grapes," "The Tortoise and the Hare") with some that have been nearly forgotten ("The Mermaid and the Woodcutter"). In tone and format, this
book is reminiscent of early 20th-century Aesop collections for children.